In this video, the Zetas interrogate, beat, and decapitate an alleged operative of Comandante Diablo. The video begins looking downward at a man who has been severely beaten. Blood covers his eyes, upper face, and can be seen in his mouth. His shirt has been ripped open and his hands are fastened behind his back. The wet blood and his irregular breathing suggest the violence occurred just prior. We do not learn the man’s name, only that he acknowledges being one of Comandante Diablo’s people. The interrogation seems focused upon portraying Comandante Diablo as dishonorable and a coward. The prisoner states his location is in Amoro, Nuevo Leon, which is nowhere near Victoria, presumably where this video was created. When asked why he remains there, the prisoner answers because he’s scared of the Zetas. The prisoner suddenly states he can’t talk anymore, and appears incapacitated. The interrogator then proclaims, “Tell [Diablo] to beg forgiveness from the letter.”[2] He focuses upon securing an apology from the beaten prisoner, who is able to comply using one-word responses to leading questions. Dedicating it to Diablo, the interrogator vows that this will happen to Diablo’s entire vassal. One Zeta uses a long knife to begin decapitating the prisoner. He easily cuts through the soft tissue in the front and sides of the neck, but has difficulty penetrating the neck bone. He turns the prisoner face downward to expose the spine, and re-positions him multiple times, yet is unable to sever it with the knife. Another Zeta can be heard joking in a feminine voice, “I can’t” –teasing his colleague for the difficulty and simultaneously mocking the prisoner’s claim he could no longer speak. The executioner then requests an axe, which he uses to sever the head. He taunts Diablo to “…keep sending these motherfuckers, asshole… This is for the innocent people. Fuck you!”.

Though Name Calling was used, the intended focus appeared to be on using the prisoner to attest to Diablo’s cowardice (Testimony), and then to humiliate and punish the prisoner as a symbol of Diablo’s group. Much of the video was devoted either to humiliation or the protracted beheading. The beheading was framed as the climax of the video, suggesting a primary motive of terrorization aimed specifically at Diablo’s group.